There are many different upland game birds such as quail, chuckars, Hungarian partridge, grouse, pheasants, and the like. The term "quail" refers to several birds in the grouse family that live in North America. The best known of these are bobwhite quail. The protected feeding and watering system of the present invention will be described as it is used in conjunction with this type of quail.
More specifically, the bobwhite is the only quail native to the area east of the Mississippi River where they are found from the Gulf states to southern Ontario. These birds live in groups called coveys and they nest on the ground. Their feed in nature is weed seeds, grain, wild fruit and insects.
With the approach of danger, a covey of quail will rise and scatter. Since quail have relatively short wings which beat very rapidly, the covey rise is very fast and startlingly noisy. Because of this rapid rise, quail usually only fly 100 to 150 yards. Once the actual or perceived danger has passed, the birds begin their whistle like "Bob White" gathering call. A male or rooster bird usually calls the covey back together. Coveys of quail roost on the ground in a circle, tails pointing inwardly and heads outwardly. The covey thus can watch for predators 360.degree. while roosting.
Although the covey roost is usually in a fairly open area so the birds can rapidly depart on a rise, these roosts are usually near a thicket to give them predator protection and cover.
In the wild, coveys of quail will scavenge for food during the middle of the morning and the middle of the afternoon while going to water during the middle of the day and late in the afternoon. Thus coveys of quail spend most of their waking hours either feeding or watering, all the while trying to be alert for dangers such as predators.
Coveys of quail that are pen raised and released in the wild usually have a fifty percent mortality rate in the first three to four days. Experience has shown that releasing birds into the wild using the present invention, there is extremely low mortality rate over extended periods of time.
The bobwhite quail populations have declined in the last 35 to 40 years and have plummeted in the last 15 to 20 years.
The widespread use of agricultural pesticides and other chemicals have contributed to the decline in populations. In recent years pesticides such as DDT have been banned while natural predators such as hawks, falcons, and several other species that do not today have natural enemies of their own have been protected, re-introduced, and have proliferated. Also, animals such as fox have been introduced into normal quail habitat for fox hunting and other purposes. These and other predators have also greatly contributed to declines in quail populations.
In addition to the patent references hereinafter discussed, some attempts have been made to provide quail management systems but it is the consensus of authorities on the subject that although such systems are usually expensive, none has been considered successful.